You are watching through the night again. The little one stirs, and you are instantly awake, heart alert, ear tuned to every sound. It has been this way for so many days now that you have almost forgotten what unbroken sleep feels like. Your body aches with weariness, and your mind carries a weight that words can scarcely frame. And yet in this very hour you have done the one thing that never fails to bring help: you have lifted your voice to the Lord, thanking Him for His goodness and laying your need before Him. That gratitude, spoken in the midst of the trial, is like a flower blooming in a winter frost, it tells of a work of grace already begun in your soul.
The Lord Jesus stands with arms wide open and says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He does not name the particular burden; He names the bearer, you who labor, you who are heavy laden. That is your passport into His presence. You are not coming to a cold doctrine but to a living Person, and He speaks rest with the same breath that calmed the sea. Notice that He does not say, “I will explain your trouble away,” or “I will show you why it came.” He says, “I will give you rest.” It is a gift, placed into your hands the moment you draw near in faith. And what is this rest? It is not the absence of trial, but the presence of a quiet confidence that God is handling everything. A ship may be in deep waters and yet ride at anchor, secure, because the anchor holds. Your anchor holds, dear weary heart, because it is fixed in Christ Himself.
And what of that precious baby you have named before the throne? He who made the little frame knows every cry, every fever, every frail pulse. The Good Shepherd gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. You may feel that your prayers are weak and faltering, but the Intercessor in heaven takes each one and breathes it anew with infinite wisdom and love. The healing leaves of the tree of life grow on both sides of the river that flows from God; no child of His is too small to be reached by their medicine. Commend the baby into His hands and leave the little one there, trusting that His ear is open to the mother’s cry, the father’s sigh. He will do what is right and good, and in the doing He will be glorified.
You have also asked for favor, and for something new. The Lord delights to answer such requests because they show you are looking to Him as your sun and shield. The favor of God is not a capricious thing, like the smile of a fickle king; it is a steady, unchangeable light that shines upon all who are in Christ Jesus. He has accepted you in the Beloved, and when you come before Him, you bring with you a sweet savor, the incense of His own Son’s merits. In that fragrance, your petitions rise acceptable. That “new” thing you long for, whether it is a fresh start, a provision, or a season of gladness, is known to Him. He who makes all things new will not forget your desire. Sometimes He delays the answer so that the gift, when it comes, may be all the sweeter, and you may say, “The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
Underneath you at this moment are the everlasting arms. You might feel as though you are holding everything together by sheer effort, but the truth is, you are being held. The worldling, when his joys are full, has a secret dread of losing them; but the child of God, even in the night watches, can rest in a portion that cannot be taken away. The Father’s hand is in the dark, and it is a steadying hand. Let Him take the strain. Lie back upon those faithful arms, and let your soul recover its composure. Jesus gives rest to the weary, not only rest for the body, though He can send that in sleep’s sweet oblivion, but rest for the soul, a deep, quiet peace that keeps the heart from turmoil.
O Lord, you who neither slumber nor sleep, look upon your child who is worn and spent. Lay your cooling hand upon the fevered brow, and still the disquiet of the mind. Take this dear baby into your especial keeping, send health and strength according to your perfect will, and let the parents see your goodness in the land of the living. Grant the favor that is needed and open the door into something new, that they may go forward with songs of deliverance. Be their shelter, their support, and their abiding home, until faith is turned to sight and every tear is wiped away. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.